Coping With Chronic Illness, One Step At A Time

Facing any diagnosis from your doctor is a challenge, even those that can be treated and cured relatively easy. With chronic conditions, you can face years, if not a lifetime, of treatments, lifestyle adjustments, and new barriers. It can be some of the most challenging news you ever have to face. If you’re met with news of a chronic condition or a loved one has had their own diagnoses, here are some of the tips on how you can cope with the changes, the fears, and the treatments that come with it.

Accept that you and your doctor are a partnership

When it comes to chronic conditions, it’s best not to think about it as receiving treatment from a doctor. Rather, you are going to play an active role in partnership with them. If you have a condition such as hypertension, for instance, you may be in charge of using blood pressure monitors to stay on top of it. Similarly, if you have diabetes, measuring your blood sugar levels is crucial. What’s more, managing chronic conditions may also involve the help of physiotherapists and other specialists. You can help your doctor organize the best care and provide the most relevant advice by keeping track of all your treatments from different places and maintaining your own records. If would be a much better world if we had centralized records that we could be sure would update from provider to provider, but it’s not always the case.

Mind your head

The emotional impact of the diagnosis can be a tough one to shake. As you face new challenges, such as losing some of your independence and finding new barriers in your previous lifestyle, stress, anxiety, and depression can become more common. Learning stress management techniques can help you control your reaction to the diagnosis, even if you can’t control the diagnosis. If you are having troubling coping emotionally, you should mention it to your doctor, so they can help recommend therapy catering directly to your circumstances.

Find your team

Having a strong support structure can be a key part of making it through life with a chronic condition. Your doctor can inform you about treatments, and your family and friends can provide both moral and practical support. But hearing from and speaking with those who understand exactly what you’re going with can be all the better. For instance, there are plenty of cancer support groups, where you can share your problems with those who can empathize, as well as learning tips for both practical solutions and emotional tools that can help you live better with the condition. Feelings of isolation can be strong when facing a particularly tough diagnosis, so support groups can be excellent reminders that you are not going through this alone.

Stay informed and stay updated

Life with a chronic condition can change from person to person. You aren’t going to find an online guide that can tell you how you feel better than you can experience it yourself. But by learning more about your condition, you can find more specific information on how to adapt your lifestyle, as well as information on what you might be able to expect both in everyday life and potential future treatments. Staying abreast of new medical developments in treatment can be helpful too. In cancer patients, in vitro screening is helping produce new medicines at a faster rate and cheaper. There are new treatments and medications being developed all the time. By staying updated, you can discuss potential new courses of treatment with your doctor. It’s simply good to have hopeful news to look forward to, as well, but you should always manage your expectations.

Another great way to stay informed and updated about your health condition is by considering non-medication treatments. It is advisable to consider various treatments that do not involve taking tablets three times a day to relieve various symptoms.

For instance, if you have diabetes, you may want to consider regular exercises which can help reduce your sugar levels. Eliminating sweets from your diet is another great way to manage your diabetes. You can control high blood pressure by eating less sodium and losing weight.

Besides, you can normalize your blood pressure by visiting a chiropractor. High blood pressure due to stress may have adverse impacts on your health by causing  a stroke or heart disease. A chiropractor can relieve stress and tension, lowering your blood pressure.

You can also treat arthritis without medication by losing weight and exercising. However, if your doctor suggests taking medicines to treat any severe condition, ensure you adhere to such rules.

Keep on top of it

Living with a chronic condition often means having to adapt to a new schedule. Unless you’re able to make your medication and any necessary monitoring or self-treatment part of your daily life, your fight can be much harder than it needs to be. There are, however, medication reminder apps and other treatment planning apps that can take some of the stress and burden of having to stay on top of your treatment. It’s not difficult at all to forget what pills you have to take and when, so having the reminder can be highly helpful.

Continue to invest in your health

Even if you have a very serious diagnosis facing you down, you shouldn’t give up the fight for your health. For instance, when facing heart disease, there are plenty of proven ways to control high blood pressure even without medication. Adopting healthy lifestyle habits won’t and shouldn’t replace the treatments as prescribed by the doctors, but they can often help you manage the symptoms if not help you recover all the more completely. Just make sure that any changes to your lifestyle are checked out with your doctor, first. You never know what will help or hinder you, specifically, until they can weigh in and give it the green light.

Turn your concerns into plans

Thinking about the potential of dying is something we might want to avoid as much as possible. For those most serious conditions, however, it is sometimes unavoidable. Rather than only worrying about the potential, however, it can help you get a sense of control, and also a little peace-of-mind, to start making end-of-life plans. Everyone should prepare for how they are going to one day leave the world, including organizing the necessary documents and planning your estate. Your diagnosis may only cause you to kickstart the process that you were thinking of doing anyway. It can help you combat anxiety around your mortality and at least feel assured that you are keeping your loved ones in mind.

It can take a long time to process and accept a chronic condition as a part of your life, and even longer all those changes to manifest. Staying active in your own care, doing your research, and making the lifestyle changes necessary can help you get back a sense of control over your own life.